To Everything There is a Season
by FaithinBones
Summary: While uncertain of his future, Booth is assigned a case that may lead him and his team to a serial killer. This story takes place in the future so it is AU.
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place sometime in the future, so it is AU. I hope you enjoy it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

She was nervous and tapped her front teeth with her index finger as she waited for someone to meet with her. Relieved when Booth entered the room, Carla lowered her hand and sat up straight. Waiting impatiently, she pushed three pictures across the table towards the agent as he sat down across from her. "Thank you for seeing me. I've talked to so many people on the phone and in person these last two days, I was afraid they were just moving me from one office to another just to get rid of me. Agent Park asked me to come in this morning to give a statement and I've been here for about three hours. I guess I was afraid no one would take me seriously."

Slowly shaking his head, Booth assured her, "No ma'am. We don't do that . . . My name is Agent Seeley Booth and this case was handed over to me about an hour ago. The agents you talked to did a little checking into the situation before they brought it to my attention. I want to thank you for your patience, Ms. Richard." Picking up the pictures, Booth looked at each one and then placed them back down on the table. "Could you tell me in your own words why you've contacted the FBI? I know you've spoken to three agents today already, but I want to get a clear picture about what it is you think is going on."

As patiently as possible, Carla tried to be as succinct as she could. Clearing her throat she began. "Well, I'm a barbeque competitor. Me and my husband travel around the country and we enter barbeque competitions. It's fun and there is some prize money to be made if you're good enough. We win once in a while but not very often. You have to just love doing it for the fun of it and to get bragging rights. You sure won't get rich. Me and my husband Joe are retired, so we have the time and it's something we've always wanted to do. At first we thought we'd do a few weekend competitions a year, but it got into our blood and we did more and more."

Carla noticed that Booth was trying to be patient, but he kept glancing at the pictures and she knew she needed to hurry her story along. "Joe and me belong to the KCBS . . . oh that stands for Kansas City Barbeque Society. They have four categories – pork ribs, chicken, brisket and pork butt . . . um, anyway, we've made a lot of friends over the last six years and well, Joe and me think something is wrong and we needed to tell someone about it."

Nodding his head slowly, Booth grimly pointed at the pictures. "You reported that people are disappearing and no one knows where these people are?"

Her arms now crossed against her breasts, Carla stared woefully at the pictures. "Yeah, it was Joe who put it all together. He asked me to talk to you because he's not really a fan of the police. He was in the military police in the Army and when he retired, he became a sheriff's deputy. He didn't really understand that he would be required to pander to politicians and he ended up getting fired for giving a ticket to the Mayor's wife for speeding. He wouldn't tear the ticket up and the Sheriff fired him, so he retired."

"I'm sorry to hear that happened, but it's not unheard of, unfortunately." Leaning back against his chair, Booth smiled at the clearly nervous woman. "Would you like a cup of coffee or a glass of water . . . maybe a Coke?"

Grateful that Booth was being so kind to her, Carla shook her head. "No thank you. I'm fine . . . Joe is very friendly and he makes friends with everyone. I don't think he's ever met a stranger in his life . . . he's one of those guy, you know."

Amused, Booth responded, "Oh yeah, I've known a few people like that in my life."

Her laughter a rich sound in the room, Carla shrugged her shoulders and turned back to her story. "I'm sorry if I'm being wordy, I'll try to hurry up . . . anyway, like I said Joe makes friends easily and we see a lot of the same faces in the competitions. It's a close knit community . . . so, we noticed that Gary Morgan didn't show up last month at one of the competitions and his crew mates didn't know where he was. They said he just disappeared and it was reported to the police in Austin where he lives, but no one could figure out where he went to. Then we noticed that Jason Wu disappeared and no one knew what happened to him and I guess the straw that broke the camel's back is when Price Thompson disappeared. Joe called Price's mother and she said he never came back from the Dallas competition. He just vanished. His truck was found in Dallas near his hotel room, but there wasn't any signs of foul play. The Dallas police tried to track him down, but they didn't find him and he never made it home to Monroe, Louisiana. The Monroe Police tried to do a little digging, but it doesn't look he made it back to Monroe from Dallas at all. Joe kind of freaked out and he said we had to call the FBI. Joe and me think someone is killing competitors and getting rid of their bodies so no one will find them. Maybe they're burying them or whatever but something is wrong. There is no way three men just disappear from the face of the earth like that. Their families don't know where they are and the police haven't been able to find them. We think the FBI needs to find out what's going on."

Pulling the pictures back towards him, Booth rested them on the table in front of him. "Ms. Richard I need you to give me as much information as possible about these men. When was the last time anyone can remember seeing them and where, where they're from and as much personal information as you can give me."

Proud of her husband, Carla pointed towards the pictures. "Joe wrote what information he had on the back of each picture. He knew you'd need to check into it further and he wanted you to have as much information as he could give you."

Pleased at the work Joe Richard had done for them, Booth scooped up the pictures and looked at the back of each one. "Thank you Ms. Richard. I appreciate you coming in and letting us know about this. I want you to thank your husband for me too. This information will help a lot."

Clasping her hands and placing them on the table, Carla sighed. "Thank you for taking us seriously, Agent Booth. Joe said since Gary, Jason and Price are from different cities and disappeared from different places, he was sure no one was going to put it together that there might be a serial killer involved. Joe says that it seems that way to him anyway. He said it's possible that something else happened to them, but he doesn't think so. He's really worried that someone is murdering people and no one is looking into it. Of course, we hope we're wrong. We don't want these men to be dead. They're very nice and really, their mothers want them back home alive and well. Maybe Joe and me are just letting our imaginations get away from us . . . but . . . I really think we're never going to see them again, at least not alive."

Grimly, Booth assured her, "We're going to look into this, Ms. Richard. If there is foul play involved we'll find out soon enough."

Standing, Carla slung her purse across her shoulder. "If you need our help, just call Joe or me. I wrote our cell numbers on the back of Jason's picture. He is the sweetest man and when Joe called his mother to talk to her about Jason, she just cried and cried. We want to know where Gary, Jason and Price are Agent Booth. Their mothers need to know."

"We'll find out what happened, Ms. Richard." Opening the door, Booth waited for her to walk around the table and exit the door. Pointing at the agent standing outside the door, Booth assured her. "Agent Park will take you back down to the lobby. I'll be in touch." Watching her walk over to the elevator, he moved back to his office once Carla and Agent Park disappeared into the elevator.

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Let me know if this sounds interesting. Thank you for reviewing my story.

A/N: To everything there is a season, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones, not even a little bit.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

"I've had Aubrey do some research on the situation and it doesn't look good." Opening a packet of sugar, Booth poured it in his cup of coffee. "Besides the three men that Carla Richard reported missing there are two other's missing from the barbeque circuits. All reported missing by their families in the last two years."

Curious, Brennan placed her coffee cup down on the table and picked up her fork. "Why did it take this long for someone to notice?"

Swallowing his bite of cherry pie, Aubrey answered that question. "Each man was from a different city. All of them were bachelors and worked for big corporations. Gary Morgan was the only person reported missing by his team members. For the other four men, it's a different story. The only one that really missed them were their mothers and their work supervisors . . . well and Joe and Carla Richard. Their friends in the barbeque circuit didn't report them missing because two of the the missing men had been talking about quitting and their friends just assumed that's what they did. When the team members didn't hear from them, someone tried to contact the men, but since phone calls weren't returned each team assumed that their missing man didn't want to talk to them.

The third and fourth man worked for a large international corporation and it was assumed they were transferred to another part of the country or overseas and didn't bother to tell their team members." Sipping some iced tea, Aubrey glanced at his pie but didn't take another bite. "It took Carla's husband to put it together. He makes friends everywhere he goes and when these guys started missing barbeque cook-offs, he wanted to know why. He tried to call them and when he couldn't reach them he called their mothers and that's when he found out they were missing, that they never came back from their barbeque competition . . . he didn't miss them as they disappeared though. Some of them only did a few competitions a year, so it took Joe a while to notice they were missing."

"I talked to the Dallas police, the Austin police and the police departments from the cities where these men were from and they couldn't locate them." Booth sipped more of his coffee and then continued. "I also called the Houston Police and they haven't come up with anything either. All of the missing men disappeared in five different places, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Kansas City and Shreveport. Eventually their cars and trucks were found, but the police didn't find any signs that a crime had been committed in the vehicles. Three of the men stayed in motel rooms. I called the motels that they stayed in and the managers reported that their guests had checked out and nothing was found in their rooms to make the police think that anything bad had happened. Those men went to a barbeque cook-off and on the last day, they checked out of their rooms, took part in the final cook-off and then disappeared. Apparently the other two men slept in their RVs during the competition."

Her mind on possibilities, Brennan poked the cut up fruit in the bowl before her with her fork. "We need to have their vehicles brought to the Jeffersonian."

Slowly shaking his head, Booth informed her. "Can't do it. The cars and trucks were returned to the owners mothers. I talked to the ladies and two of them still have the vehicles, but the other trucks and car were either sold or given to another relative. The ladies that kept them have been using them and they keep them really clean. If there was anything useful in the vehicles then it probably isn't there now."

Determined to have someone look at them, Brennan insisted, "Booth, I can send Hodgins to at least examine the two vehicles that the victim's mothers have. If he finds anything then we can have the car or truck taken to the nearest FBI office so he can comb through them or we can have them brought here. I don't think we should overlook the possibility that there may be some clues still left to be found."

He was certain it was a waste of time, but Booth conceded he could be wrong. "Alright, I'll call Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Spencer and ask if we can look at them. I'm not sure I can get a warrant to look at the vehicles since the Houston and Austin Police Departments have already examined them and didn't find anything."

A little irritated, Brennan reminded him, "They aren't Jack Hodgins."

Amused, Booth patted her arm. "You're right. If there is anything to be found, he'd be the one to find it . . . I'll make the calls when I get back to the Hoover."

Swallowing the last bite of his pie, Aubrey placed his fork down on the plate. "You know . . . if we're dealing with a serial killer then it's going to be hard tracking him or her down . . . um . . . what we need to do is go undercover at the next barbeque cook-off. We can ask Joe and Carla Richard if we can join their team. It would be the best way to see what's going on and catch whoever is killing contestants."

Alerted by Aubrey's use of the word 'we', Booth chuckled. "You just want to go undercover because it involves barbeque."

A feeling of indignation sweeping through him, Aubrey protested Booth's assertion. "I want to go undercover to find a murderer and this is the best way to do it. Food hasn't got anything to do with it."

"Alright, simmer down." His coffee finished, Booth moved the cup to the side. "I actually think it's a good idea, but I think it would work better if it was me and Bones. We're used to going undercover and we work really good together."

Disappointed that he was being shut out of another undercover assignment, Aubrey complained. "How do you know I wouldn't be great at it? Besides, Dr. Brennan is a vegetarian. Wouldn't it be cruel to make her cook and taste meat like that? They don't do tofu at barbeque cook-offs. It's real chicken and cows and pigs. Not soybean byproducts."

Her nose wrinkling, Brennan slowly shook her head. "Booth, I'd rather not have to eat animals. I can cook them when I have to, but eating them . . . I don't think I can do it."

Concerned for her, Booth rubbed her back. "Hey, you won't have to eat anything you don't want to. If we talk Carla and Joe into taking us in their crew we would be working for them while we investigate. If anything needs to be tasted I can do it. I promise you won't have to eat meat." Glaring at Aubrey, Booth reminded her, "You're my partner, Bones. We're great at undercover."

Brennan thought it over and smiled. "Alright. We do pretty good undercover work . . . Alright, I'll go undercover with you."

Disappointed, Aubrey's shoulders slumped. Sipping his milkshake, he was once more reminded that Booth didn't trust him completely. _What's it going to take to get him to completely trust me? I thought we were past all that shit._

Aware that Aubrey was upset, Booth rubbed his tongue around the bottom of his teeth and finally spoke. "We still might be able to use you, Aubrey. Bones and me could work the inside angle and you could work the outside angle. You could go to the competition as a visitor. Maybe as Wanda's brother. You could walk around the competition, ask questions . . . move around between the contestants and see if anything odd is going on. You could also watch the visitors and see if you see anyone suspicious. Maybe between the three of us, we can find out what's going on."

Surprised and delighted that he was going undercover after all, Aubrey sat up straight and tried to look very reliable and professional. "Yeah, that's great. You could talk to the competitors and I could talk to the people that go to the competitions and maybe the other competitors too. Yeah . . . we might catch us a killer pretty quickly if all three of us are on the case."

Her gaze moving from Booth to Aubrey and back, Brennan finally interrupted Aubrey. "Why do you want him to go as my brother? We don't share any common physical markers. No one with sense will believe he's my brother."

Amused that Brennan didn't want Aubrey to pretend to be her brother, Booth laughed. "Okay, step-brother or maybe a half-brother. How about that?"

Conceding that would work, Brennan finished her coffee. "Yes, that would okay."

Not sure he was doing a wise thing by inviting Aubrey into an undercover operation, Booth sat back and glanced at his wristwatch. "Okay, I need to get back to the Hoover. I'll make a few phone calls and see if this is even feasible. I'll let you know this evening if we're going to do this."

Standing, Brennan slung her purse over her shoulder. "If we're going to do this, I'll see if Max can take care of Christine and Hank while we're gone. If he can't do it, I'm sure Angela won't mind watching our children for us."

Booth removed some money from his wallet to cover his and Brennan's coffee and snacks. "Sounds good." Standing, he kissed Brennan. "I'll pick you and the kids up around six."

His money placed on top of Booth's money in the middle of the table, Aubrey's mouth salivated at the thought of all the barbeque he planned to eat while he helped investigate a possible serial killer. _God, this is a dream come true. I love my job._

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thanks


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for reviewing my story. I really appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Her spoon tinkling against the inside of her coffee cup as she stirred in her cream, Caroline watched Booth as he scooped the broccoli from his plate with a fork and dropped it onto Brennan's plate. "Okay Cher', I think you three should be good to go tomorrow morning. The Richards have agreed to add you to their barbeque crew . . . Smokin Hot . . . anyway, the next competition is in Lafayette, Louisiana this coming weekend at the Cajun Dome parking lot. You three will fly into New Orleans on Wednesday morning and then take a short flight over to Baton Rouge."

Her coffee growing cooler as she spoke, Caroline decided to drink some before it turned stone cold. The caffeine welcome, she savored the taste of the coffee and then placed her cup down. Poking her grilled chicken salad with a fork she continued. "The FBI field office will have transportation ready for you to pick up when you get there. Someone will meet you at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport and hand over the keys to your vehicles. Lafayette is about an hour drive from Baton Rouge." Her eyes now completely on Booth, she added. "If you go the speed limit and I suggest you do that since the police patrol the basin fairly regularly . . . All three of you will be staying at the Hilton Garden Inn which is across the street from the Cajun Dome." Turning to face Aubrey, Caroline sneered. "You'll be happy to know it's just down the street from the University Hospital just in case you . . . um . . . get a little too enthusiastic eating at the competition."

His attention up until then on his meatloaf, Aubrey swallowed his bite of food and turned to glare at the prosecutor. "Ha, that'll be the day. I've never . . ."

After he swallowed his bite of baked chicken, Booth interrupted Aubrey. "What about the cars that Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Spencer have?"

Her food beckoning her, Caroline held up her hand, chewed a bite of her grilled chicken and then turned her attention back towards Booth. "I've made arrangements for Dr. Hodgins to fly to Waco, Texas and then to Shreveport to examine the car and truck. Neither woman wants to give up their vehicles for a long period of time, but they are both willing to let Dr. Hodgins look to his heart's content without a warrant if he comes to them."

Placing her glass down on the table, Brennan nodded her head. "If there is anything to find on the victims vehicles, Hodgins will find it . . . I've looked over the police reports and it would seem the police in Austin, Houston and Kansas City did a thorough job going over the motel rooms, but it was already too late when they began their search, as the rooms had been cleaned a few times and they had been used by other renters . . . they found no evidence of blood or violence in the rooms."

Her cup in her hand, Caroline interjected, "And yet we have five missing men . . ."

"That we know of." Booth interrupted Caroline. There was a possibility that there were more and Booth didn't want anyone at the table to forget that.

"Yeah Cher'." Sipping her coffee, she found it too cold for her taste, placed the cup down and waved for her waitress. "That we know of. They were all unattached males who were only missed by their mothers and the companies they worked for . . . well except for Gary Morgan. He was missed by his team mates. If it wasn't for Joe Richard no one may have realized that something odd was going on. Thank God for nosey people."

After the waitress came by and refilled Ms. Julian's cup with fresh coffee, Aubrey swallowed his last bit of meatloaf and cleared his throat. "What I don't understand is if these people were really murdered then where are the bodies? Why hasn't at least one of them been found so far? It seems weird to me. It's not that easy to get rid of a body."

Brennan felt that blanket statements were offensive. "That's not true. I can think of several ways to get rid of a body and never have it found. All it . . ."

Not in the mood to let Brennan kill his appetite, Booth placed his hand over her hand. "Bones, I'm eating. Let's skip that part of the conversation . . . thank you."

Amused with her husband's dislike of the gory parts of his job, Brennan smiled, gripped his hand then picked up her fork to finish eating. "I will refrain of going into details at this particular time."

Caroline muttered under her breath. "Thank God."

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Their trip uneventful, Booth was glad to be on the road again after taking possession of a black Ford 150 pickup truck from the airport. The agent that had met them shrugged his shoulders when he handed over the keys. "I figured you'd want to fit in." Handing the keys to the purple Ford 150 pickup to Aubrey, Booth laughed. "Go LSU."

Not amused, Aubrey took the keys from Booth and stared sorrowfully at the truck. "God I hope no one from my alma mater sees me in this purple nightmare."

Moving over to his truck, Booth opened the back door and threw in his and Brennan's luggage. "Well Wanda, it's off to the barbeque."

After placing her purse on the floor in the front passenger side of the truck, Brennan slid in on the seat and smiled at her partner. "Yes . . . I was thinking I could grill some vegetable kabobs while you and the Richards cook your meat for the contest."

Slamming the back door shut, Booth hurried to the driver's side and got in. "No way, Wanda. This is a barbeque cook-off and no one wants to see anything of a vegetable nature on their plate."

Her eyes mere slits, Brennan turned her gaze upon Booth. "Since I refuse to eat meat, I am going to grill some vegetable kabobs. You may eat them or not."

Booth realized that Brennan was going to do what she wanted to do anyway. "Yeah, sure . . . Whatever you want to do, Wanda. Vegetable kabobs it is . . . just no broccoli."

Leaning over Brennan kissed him. "Of course not . . . I do like to go undercover with you."

Her kiss warm and inviting, Booth returned her kiss finding it spiraling into a very intense kiss. As his hand moved around her side, the sudden blare of a car horn interrupted their moment.

Annoyed with Aubrey, Booth pulled back from Brennan and started their truck. "We should have left Aubrey at home."

Turning, Brennan saw the younger agent waiting in his truck, laughing at them. "I agree . . . and I'm glad you gave him the grape jelly colored truck."

Booth snickered, pulled out of the parking space, rolled down the window and shouted at Aubrey. "Go LSU!"

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Let me know what you think of my story so far. Thank you.

A/N: LSU is Louisiana State University. Their school colors are gold and purple.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for reviewing my story. I really do appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

After they booked into their rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn, Booth and Brennan decided to take a walk before they went out for dinner. The Richards planned on setting up their tent in the Cajun Dome parking lot on Thursdayafternoon, but they were already in town. They had made plans to meet Booth, Brennan and Aubrey at Dean-O's Pizza at 7 p.m. to go over the undercover roles of the agents and Brennan while they were investigating the disappearances and possible murders of five men.

Booth and Brennan wanted to stretch their legs after their flight from D.C. and the drive across the very busy basin to Lafayette. Aubrey chose to stay in his room and watch TV until it was time to go out and eat. "I want to watch a little TV and have a snack. I might go down to the dinning room and see what they have to tide me over until dinner . . . Besides, you two love birds don't need me tagging along."

Hand in hand they walked down the sidewalk away from the hotel towards the quieter neighborhood nearby. As they walked, Booth thought about how lucky he was that after all they'd been through together Brennan still loved to be with him. Lost in thought, he lightly swung their hands while he kept his gaze on the sidewalk in front of them.

Not sure why Booth was so quiet, Brennan decided to give her husband the time he needed to work out whatever problem he was ruminating about. She knew that something was on his mind and had been for the last three days, but so far he had been unwilling to share what it was. As they moved down the sidewalk, Brennan studied the Cajun Dome to the right and once they were past it, the houses bordering the sidewalk on each side of the street. After a while she noticed a used bookstore across the street. "Booth, let's go over to that bookstore."

Pulled from his thoughts, Booth looked around and noticed a sign across the street, 'Alexander Books'. He also noticed how busy the traffic was on that stretch of road and shook his head. "The traffic is pretty busy, Bones. I don't want to get killed trying to cross over to that side of the street."

The traffic unrelenting, Brennan glumly nodded her head. "Perhaps we can drive over here tomorrow morning and have a look at their stock."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth thought that would be okay. "Sure, why not? I think the Richards probably want us to help set up tomorrow afternoon as we're supposed to be part of their crew, but we should be free in the morning. We'll drive over here after breakfast."

Reluctantly, Brennan turned to face back the way they had come. "Perhaps we should go back to the hotel room now."

Turning, Booth took Brennan's hand back into his hand and they started to walk back towards the hotel. "Bones . . . uh . . . I've been meaning to talk to you about something . . . Deputy Director Stark talked to me a few days ago and . . . he said that the Director wants to give me a promotion . . . there's an opening coming up and he wants me to fill it."

Suddenly nervous, Brennan gripped Booth's hand and stopped walking forcing Booth to stop. "What's the position?"

He hadn't meant to make her nervous, but now he saw that he'd done exactly that. "No Bones, it isn't something like overseas . . . I'm done with that . . . I wouldn't trust that kind of offer if the President of the United States offered it to me . . . no . . . um . . . well it's Executive Assistant Director for Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch." Chuckling, Booth placed his left hand on her arm. "A mouthful I know. It means I'd be in charge of four divisions . . . Criminal, Cyber, Critical Incident Response and International Operations . . . It's a huge step if I want to take it."

Impressed, Brennan moved closer to hug her partner. "That is very impressive Booth. Congratulations."

His arms automatically moving around her, Booth held her against his body for a couple of minutes. The tooting of car horns made them both realize that they were in a very public place and stopped them from doing anything inappropriate. "Thanks, but I haven't really decided if I want the job or not . . . well, that's not true . . . I think I'm going to pass."

Stepping back, Brennan cocked her head to the side. "You're more than qualified Booth and it's much more prestigious than the position you were promised in Germany."

Not sure how to explain it, Booth took her left hand in his hand and smiled. "Let's go back to the hotel." As they moved down the sidewalk, Booth tried to decide how he wanted to explain the problem to her.

A little confused at Booth's reticence, Brennan remained silent and allowed him to gather his thoughts.

He knew he was going to sound paranoid, but Booth didn't know how to explain it and not give away how he felt about the offer and why he thought it was a bad idea. He had been through too much when he'd been betrayed by the FBI and Congressman Hadley who was now sitting in prison, but the facts were the facts and he had been betrayed and he'd almost been killed, Brennan had almost been killed, their Mighty Hut was destroyed. Pulling Brennan to a stop, he faced her, his back towards the street.

"Okay, look . . . When I was offered the post in Germany, I had these great ideas. I was going to make a huge difference in how we handled terrorism . . . I was going to make my mark and fix the things I thought needed to be fixed in the FBI and then . . . then Congressman Hadley made the world think I murdered an American citizen in Pakistan in 2002 . . . Daniel Johnson . . . I still can't talk about it even to you . . . I can't betray my oath, but I'm not a murderer. . . I'm not . . ."

Brennan saw the look of anger and betrayal on Booth's face and she knew he still lived with the nightmare that the corrupt congressman had started. "He's in prison Booth. He was the criminal not you. You are not a murderer . . ."

Unable to stop himself, Booth interrupted her. "But that's what most of the world believes . . . even now. I can't answer to what happened in Pakistan and the State Department can't explain it without endangering a bunch of lives . . . They tried, but they couldn't say what it was about and . . . it's a mess. I was doing my job and in ten minutes in front of a Congressional hearing my honor was impugned forever, our lives were almost destroyed . . . How can I trust anyone after that? How can I risk you and the kids and . . . and me . . . This position would require another Congressional hearing and who knows what hatchet someone would use on me this time . . . A lot of Congressman think I'm a dangerous man, you know that . . . maybe too dangerous . . . I can't do it . . . I won't take the risk of one of those assholes trying to ruin me or you to get revenge for Hadley or for whatever bug they have up their ass . . . I can't endanger you or the kids, not this time . . . not ever."

"But the FBI gave you back your position with confidence and support after you were exonerated. The Director gave a press conference pointing out how you were framed for murder when you were attacked in our home." She wanted him to see that his honor was intact, but she knew it was an uphill battle. "The State Department held a joint press conference with the FBI after Congressman Hadley was arrested for maleficence of office and explained that Daniel Johnson wasn't murdered by American agents and that you were a victim of corruption and treason. He explained how we uncovered a vast conspiracy undermining our government by Glenn Durant. Booth, your honor is intact and I don't think any congressman would try to go after again considering what happened to Hadley."

Snorting, Booth shook his head and started to walk back towards the hotel. "Yeah I don't think so. Congressman Wood made it clear after Hadley was sentenced to prison that he thought I was all part of some plot to bring down some congressional leaders because of some hidden agenda. You know people eat that shit up . . . Once it was put out there . . . a lot of people think it's all a big cover up or a plot or something. Hell, there are still agents in the FBI that think I got away with the murder of three FBI agents and you and I know that . . . No, I can't go through that again . . . I won't jeopardize what we have . . . not again Bones. I'm sorry that you're married to a loser like me, but it's not going to happen again. I won't endanger my family or . . ."

Furious, Brennan stopped in her tracks and yanked on Booth's arm. "How dare you say that? You are not a loser and you have no right to say that . . . of course you were set up and of course it made you distrust everyone, but you were exonerated by the Director of the FBI and the Secretary of State and you have had the full backing of the FBI ever since . . . Booth don't take the job because you don't want it, it's your right . . . but don't reject it out of fear or because you think you may be set up again for something else. The FBI cleaned its house. You can trust them, Booth. You can trust the men and women you work with because they trust you."

His face flushed with embarrassment, Booth stared at Brennan for a few minutes. Tentatively reaching his hand out, he finally took her hand in his again and started them walking back to the hotel. "I'm sorry I upset you, Bones. I didn't mean to do that . . . Okay, the FBI cleaned it's house, but I have too many enemies in Congress now . . . I don't want the job. I don't trust them . . . I won't place my honor or my life in the hands of a bunch of politicians at a congressional hearing . . . and it's not just me that I'm worrying about. We have too much to lose . . . We do . . . I won't take the job."

"Then don't take it." Her emotions back under control, Brennan gripped his hand firmly. "If you don't want to move up in the FBI then don't. I will support whatever you chose to do . . . They may try to force you to take another position or they may try to retire you. You need to be prepared for that."

Glumly, Booth nodded his head. "Yeah, I thought of that and I guess I'm ready to retire if they push me . . . I can find something else to do . . . The CIA made an offer . . . I could look into that."

Surprised, Brennan glanced at her husband and then back at the hotel in the distance. "When did the CIA make an offer? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Before I was framed by Durant." His eyes on the hotel, Booth kept walking. "I didn't tell you because I wasn't interested, so I guess I didn't think it was worth mentioning . . . After we proved Durant was behind our problems, Danny contacted me and told me the offer was still good. In fact, he tried to get me to quit the FBI and go work for them right after we nailed Durant. They knew something was wrong with the whole setup and when they found out about Durant they went ape shit over at Langley. They went through their agency with a fine tooth comb trying to find out if there were any of Durant's people there."

Curious, Brennan asked her husband, "Did they find any?"

Slowly nodding his head, Booth led them up the driveway towards the hotel entrance. "With the help of Angela . . . Oh yeah. Danny said they kept it quiet, but several people were fired and two were prosecuted for something or other. They handled things like they always do."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my little story. Thank you.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you for reviewing my story. I really appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

The previous evening, while they had all dined at Dean-O's, Joe Richard had explained some of the things he'd done to try to help Booth in his investigation. "There are 52 teams for this cook-off. I have a list of the teams and I made a couple of copies for you, Agent . . . Buck . . . sorry . . . anyway, before we came I printed copies of the teams that attended the cook-offs where . . ." His gaze flicking around the room at the other patrons busy eating pizza and sandwiches, Joe decided to be cautious. "Where the problems occurred . . . so you may be able to whittle the teams you're interested in down to who you need to talk to." Handing the copies to Booth, Joe smiled. "If you trust me, I've already looked through the lists and highlighted the teams that were at the other cook-offs that were attended by Jason, Price and Gary. I wrote the names down for each crew . . . well the names I could remember. I don't know everyone . . . You said there were two more guys that disappeared, so the lists may narrow it down even further for you."

After he took the lists from Joe, Booth looked through them. "So 18 teams attended the same cook-offs as our missing guys . . . good that will help a lot." Once he was done looking at them, he handed one copy of the lists to Aubrey and the other copy to Brennan. "At least we don't have to worry about 52 teams now, 18 is workable. The less people we have to do background searches on and interviews the better."

Joe explained the competition. "Tomorrow is Thursday so there won't be very many people there at first. We came early because we have our RV and we wanted to sign up for the best spot and we wanted meet up with you before you start doing whatever it is you do. We can set up our canopy tent in the morning and we'll unload our gear tomorrow afternoon and set everything up for the competition. On Friday we need to make sure everything is ready to go for an inspection. That's usually done between 9 and 11. When they do the inspection, they'll check our equipment and the meat we're going to use. It's for safety reasons and to make sure that we don't cheat and use pre-cooked meat or unqualified meat. The meat has to be kept around 40 degrees before you start cooking it, so if your meat is warmer than that you're disqualified. After lunch there's a cook's meeting and we'll receive our turn-in boxes. After that we'll start our meat preparation. After dinner we'll start cooking our brisket and pork shoulder. Those take a long time to cook properly. You'll have plenty of time to talk to folks, so don't worry. There won't be a lot of fraternization on Saturday, so you need to talk to as many people as you need to on Thursday and Friday . . . okay?"

Impressed, Brennan shook her head. "I never realized there were so many rules for a barbeque competition. It's fascinating."

Cheerfully, Carla patted Brennan on the back. "Goodness . . . there are so many rules and believe me if we break any of them we'll be disqualified. They're real sticklers, but then they have to be. We don't want people to get sick eating our food and we don't want cheaters ruining our fun."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

The day started out warm with a promise of hot temperatures later that afternoon. After breakfast, Booth and Brennan drove down to the used book store to look around at what was available. Curious, Aubrey went with them. "I love old books especially old science fiction books. The cover art is fantastic on those."

After spending an hour in the store, purchases were made, the store cat was petted and fawned over by Aubrey and Brennan and they left to go back to the hotel. Once they were at the hotel, they met in Booth and Brennan's room. Copies of the lists had been sent to Angela the previous evening, so she could do background checks on the names of the people Joe could remember and to see if Angela could come up with the rest of the names on the teams.

While that was happening on her end, Booth and Brennan jotted down the names of people they wanted to talk to. They gave a copy to Aubrey. As he talked to people on the list, Aubrey was to let Booth know so they wouldn't have an overlap. They didn't have a lot of time and they didn't want to step on each other's toes.

Once that was done, Booth and Brennan decided to join Joe and Carla across the street in the parking lot to help set up the open faced tent and begin the process of talking to other competitors as they arrived for the competition.

Since Aubrey wasn't part of the team, he decided he'd wait until later in the morning before he walked over to the parking lot. He wanted to mingle with the other contestants and see what he could pick up from them, but before he did that he wanted to do some research. He planned to log onto the FBI database and go through the lists and see if he could find anyone that might raise an alarm and then seek those suspects out first. He hoped he could narrow down their suspects, if there were suspects.

They still didn't know if they were dealing with a murder or murders, but they had no choice but to treat it like a murder investigation. Something had happened to those missing men and they needed to make sure no one else disappeared.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Carla and Joe met Booth and Brennan in the Cajun Dome parking lot. The barbeque cook-off was being held at the end of the parking lot and Joe had managed to get a spot near the Betrand Drive exit, facing a strip shopping mall across the road. Pleased with himself, Joe smiled and pointed at the grocery store across the street. "If we need supplies we can run across the street for them. There's a pharmacy on the corner too." Shifting his stance, he then pointed at the large building down the road. "And the hospital is across Congress Street . . . you know just in case you barbeque bits of yourself . . ." Chuckling, Joe laughed at his own joke.

Carla rolled her eyes. Once you've heard that joke a few dozen times or so, it just seems painful. "We're real careful Agent . . . Buck so don't worry about it." Turning towards Brennan, Carla smiled. "I know you're a vegetarian and that's not a problem. We can go across the street and buy some vegetables to grill for lunch. I have a little grill I use to cook our meals with that's separate from the grills we're going to use for the contest. We have to set up our equipment this afternoon, but once that's done we can do whatever we want. A lot of the contestants will be here by tonight. Some come early like Joe and me, but we're retired and can afford to do it. Most competitors will be here by sundown because they don't want to be tired for the competition and it's a pain in the posterior to come in on Friday morning and try to set up everything and have your inspection in time. I'll introduce you to as many folks as I can, but if you have the names whittled down that will help."

Pleased with Carla's plan, Brennan let her know it. "Your plan is excellent Carla. We do have the lists you gave us, but we have our techs working to trim the list down to people that we need to interview . . . Aubrey will be here later. He's researching the names on the list as well."

Ooooooooooooooooo

After Joe's tent was set up, Booth opened a lawn chair placing it against Joe and Carla's RV and sat down. "Phew . . . it's hot for June."

Amused, Joe pulled open a chair and sat down next to Booth. "Ha, this is Louisiana. We'll be even hotter by late this afternoon. I have a fan I can plug in and run for us. I'll do that after lunch and when we're setting up the equipment . . . look that's Jim Riley. He and his team were at Gary, Jason and Prices' competitions. He's a nice guy, but I don't like his brother-in-law. The damn fool is always hitting on Carla and that just pisses her off. She thinks he's creepy."

Shifting his chair, Booth watched as Jim parked his RV, stepped out of the vehicle with a man and waved at Joe. A lovely woman with long blond hair stepped out the RV behind them and smiled at Joe. "Hey Joe, prepare to lose your ass this time."

"Yeah . . . yeah Tiffany." Joe waved at her and then turned towards Booth, speaking softly. "She loves to flirt, but it's all show. She loves that husband of hers . . . the other man is Tiffany's brother, Clyde Baker."

After awhile Joe walked into his RV, turned on the air conditioner and lay down for a nap. Brennan, who had spent the time exploring the area, came back and sat down next to Booth. As time moved along so did the sun and Booth and Brennan moved their two lawn chairs to be more in the shade. Sitting side by side, they held hands and talked quietly to each other. Occasionally, they would lean towards each other and kiss enjoying a bit of quiet time before more competitors showed up and they had to start working.

oooooooooooooooooo

As competitors started to arrive, Booth or Brennan would leave for awhile and introduce themselves to the competitors. After a short conversation they would return to Joe's tent and make some notes. They wanted to wait until they heard from Aubrey or Angela before they concentrated on any specific suspects.

Carla used the time to read a novel she had wanted to start and Aubrey who finally arrived, had a quick talk with Booth and Brennan. Some of his research had paid off a little and he handed a list to Booth. "A couple of interesting names on these lists, but nothing serious. One guy has a record, but it was for joy riding in college and there's a Marsha Spell that served two years for beating up her boyfriend after they got into a fight. She broke his arm and the guy ended up in the hospital. Not someone to cross I'd think . . . no one else has a record besides speeding tickets and one drunk driving."

Disappointed with the short list, Brennan took the list and checked the names. "Well, that's not what I was hoping for."

Amused, Aubrey checked his email and saw he had one from Angela. "Angela says to check some guy named Peter Anderson. He made a threat against Jason Wu at the Houston competition, the one that Jason disappeared from. The people running the competition were alarmed at the violence of the threat and they asked Peter to leave because of it. He was at the same competitions as George and Price too."

Booth hadn't met the man yet, but that sounded like someone he wanted to talk to. "Good, that's good. I've made a list of who me and Bones have talked to so far and I emailed it to you. Not too many people here, so we haven't really found anything suspicious yet."

Once their meeting was over Aubrey made a quick run to the store across the street. Soon he was back with two pizzas. "Holy hell, they have a Cajun pizza and some barbeque pizza and I just had to try both of them." Reluctantly, he walked over to where Booth and Brennan were sitting and offered them each a slice. Brennan declined the offer, but Booth took two slices knowing it would probably annoy the younger agent. "Thanks Aubrey." Thankful that Booth didn't take a whole pizza, Aubrey beat a hasty retreat over to the other side of the tent and enjoyed what was left of his snack.

The next hour was quiet and Booth and Brennan spent the time talking to each other. After he'd consumed what was left of his two pizzas, Aubrey sat down next to Carla and talked to her. Unable to keep from sneaking peeks at the couple, Carla whispered to Aubrey. "They are so cute, I could just eat them up."

His eyes rolling, Aubrey sighed and hunched down in his chair. "You have no idea."

Once Jim Riley was ready to set up his canopy tent, Booth walked over and helped his team set it up. He spent the time talking to them about the competition and the people that came to them. Brennan came over once she realized that Tiffany was flirting shamelessly with Booth and diverted the younger woman's attention by asking her about recipes for marinades and sauces. If there was one thing Brennan didn't like it was someone trying to flirt with Booth in her presence. Especially if that woman was blond.

An hour later, while everyone was eating lunch, another RV parked on the other side of Jim Riley which caused Joe to scowl. "That there RV belongs to Bruce Christopher. The man thinks he's God's gift to barbeque and he hates to lose . . . he's on the list too. Him and that son of his Tony are a pain in the ass most of the time. Tony's wife is nice though. Bruce's wife doesn't come to these things."

Booth checked them out and watched as they removed a tent from the RV and started to set it up. Finished eating his lunch, Booth handed his paper plate to Brennan who tossed it in a trash bag. "I'll go and offer my help, Wanda." Standing Booth moved slowly out of the shade of the tent into the bright sun. As he approached the Christophers a young woman exited the RV. Booth smiled at her as he walked past her and over to where Bruce was fiddling with some canvas. "Hey, I thought I'd come over and see if you'd like some help."

Surprised, Bruce looked up and scowled. "What for?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth kept the smile on his face. "Why not? It's my first Barbeque competition and I'm interested in everything that's going on. I thought I'd help you set up the tent and you could talk to me about the competition."

Slowly nodding his head, Bruce held his hand out to shake. "Okay, fair enough. My name is Bruce."

"I'm Buck Moosejaw."

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

After Booth was finished helping Bruce, he returned to Joe's tent and told Brennan and Aubrey what he'd learned about some of the other competitors which wasn't much. Apparently Bruce didn't mingle like most competitors. Soon the parking lot started to get crowded with more and more competitors and Aubrey felt it was time to go to work.

Checking his email once more, Aubrey looked over the list. "Well, I guess I'll mosey around and chew the fat."

Puzzled, Brennan shook her head. "Why are you going to chew the fat? That's not very good nutritionally."

"He means he's going to talk to people Wanda." Glancing once more at the list Aubrey had given him earlier, Booth folded it and placed it in his pocket. Taking a handkerchief from his pants pocket, he mopped his forehead. "This is going to be a long day."

For the rest of the day, Booth and Brennan visited the competitors as they showed up in the parking lot. Quite a few of them had RVs and Booth realized that these people were serious about competing.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

I hope I didn't bore you with all of the barbeque information. I do a lot of research when I do my stories so that they are as accurate as they can be. Let me know what you think of my story so far. Thanks.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones, not even a little bit.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

As the afternoon wore on, the temperature got hotter and hotter. Booth returned to the hotel for a short time to cool off in the air conditioned room and to retrieve a hat. Brennan had brought one with her when she'd left the hotel room earlier that morning and had stayed at the Cajun Dome parking lot trying to interview more of the people on their list along with Aubrey.

After drinking a bottle of water while standing in front of the air conditioner, Booth felt better. Once he was cooled off, he sat down at the small table in the corner of the room and called Angela Montenegro. " _Booth, I was just going to call you."_

Surprised, Booth cracked open another bottle of water. "Really? What's up?"

" _Have you had a chance to talk to Peter Anderson yet?"_

"Nah, he isn't here yet." Sipping some of the cold water, Booth stared at the curtains rippling from the air blasting from the air conditioner. "He should be here soon if he's going to come at all. Joe says most of the competitors show up early so they aren't tired during the competition, unless they're locals and he isn't local."

" _Yeah, he's from Shreveport. That's where Jason Wu was from. Peter reported Jason missing to the police about two weeks after Jason's mother did. I checked with the Shreveport Police and they said that Peter hadn't heard from his friend since the competition in Houston and when he couldn't contact him he called the police in Houston and then Shreveport. He insisted that the police check it out because Jason would never just disappear without telling him he was going somewhere."_

"That's interesting . . . I wonder why he didn't call Jason's mother."

" _I don't know. I just thought I'd let you know that Peter Anderson seemed to have some kind of relationship with Jason Wu. It's weird since he threatened Jason and was kicked out of a competition in Houston for it. The same competition that Jason disappeared from. If he killed Jason I don't think he'd report him missing would he?"_

Thinking about it, Booth responded, "He might have been covering up for himself. It's hard to say. I'm definitely going to talk to him as soon as I can. Thanks Angela." Ending the call, Booth finished drinking the second bottle of water, paid a visit to the bathroom and left.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

"I must be getting old." His handkerchief a sodden mess in his hand, Booth jammed it in his pants pocket. "I used to be able to handle heat better than this . . . I served in Iraq and Afghanistan for God's sake not to mention a few other hot places." Disgusted, Booth shifted his hat to make sure it was totally covering the top of his head.

Brennan commiserated with him. "Your body's ability to regulate your body temperature starts to decline as you get older. It's not unexpected."

Annoyed, Booth shifted eyes gaze from Joe's barbeque grills to Brennan. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Pleased that she was able to confirm what Booth had suspected, she reminded him, "Make sure you drink plenty of water."

Holding up his bottle of water, Booth assured her. "Oh I am. Believe me . . . I wish Peter Anderson would show up. I need to talk to him."

"You know I thought there would be a lot of eating going on, but so far all I see is hard work." Chewing on a bacon sandwich Carla had given him, Aubrey watched Joe wipe down his already gleaming equipment. "A man could starve at one of these things if they're a competitor." His coke almost done, Aubrey contemplated getting another one plus the brownie Carla had promised him when she gave him the sandwich.

Joe was in the process of making sure his grills were ready to use when he looked up and spotted Peter Anderson walking towards them. "Buck . . . Wanda here comes Peter."

Turning, Booth noticed a man of short stature approaching Joe's tent. The man was of slight build, about fifty years of age, with short gray hair and a mustache to match.

Unaware that he was a person of interest, Peter stopped just inside the tent and looked around with a hopeful look on his face. "Hey Joe, I've looked around . . . Jason didn't show up did he?"

Slowly shaking his head, Joe leaned against one of his gleaming grills. "I haven't seen Jason since Houston, Peter. He's still missing isn't he?"

His hands jammed in his short's pockets, Peter looked so sad. "Yeah . . . I was hoping he'd just show up . . . I . . . I finally contacted his mother last night and I asked about him. I didn't want to call her since she doesn't like me too much, but . . . I shouldn't have done it. She cried and cried . . . I just don't get it . . . He just disappeared and no one has seen him since last August and you know he loved his mother and he would never just walk away from her. It's not like him and the barbeque competitions . . . he was starting to win pretty regularly. That sauce of his was almost unbeatable . . . Something happened to him and the cops aren't even trying to find him . . . I don't get it."

Stepping forward, Booth offered his hand, "My name is Buck . . . My wife and I are filling in for Bobby Curry and his wife this time. They couldn't make it so we're helping Joe and Carla . . . You say someone is missing and the police aren't looking into it?

After he shook Booth's hand, Peter crossed his arms against his chest. "I don't think they are. Jason was at a competition in Houston last August. He and I are close friends . . . we went to school together . . . we got into a fight and . . . I made a few threats and I was told I had to leave. I was mad enough that I did. I didn't know Jason was missing until I went to his apartment a week after the competition. I went by a few times afterward and he was never there and then I got worried. He wouldn't answer his phone and after awhile I quit trying to call. I finally drove over to where he works and they said that they had talked to his mother and she said he didn't come back from Houston. I finally called the police and they said he'd already been reported missing by his mother . . . Then that's it . . . I called the cops a few more times, but I was told they were looking into it and they'd call me when they found out where he was, but they didn't. Something terrible happened to Jason I just know it."

"You said that you had a fight with Jason?" Booth hoped that Peter would keep talking.

Slowly nodding his head, Peter glanced down the row of RVs and tents until his eyes rested on the RV belonging to Marsha Spell. "Jason has been seeing Marsha off and on during the competitions. That's okay, he's not married and she's not seeing anyone, but I wanted him to break it off with her." Lowering his voice, Peter shifted his gaze back towards Joe and then Booth. "She and Jason got into a huge fight in Houston and she broke two of his fingers on his left hand and she gave him a black eye. She said he was flirting with Tiffany Price and she didn't like it. I told Jason the woman was dangerous and he told me he loved her and to leave him alone. He said she just has a temper and what she did was an accident . . . I started calling him names and then he started calling me names and I . . . I threatened to beat some sense into him and it sounded bad because we were yelling and I was told to leave and I did. When he didn't show up at home and during the winter when he didn't come back, I thought maybe he just moved to where Marsha lives, maybe they decided to live together and since Marsha hated James' Mom well . . . I know he loves his mother and none of it makes sense, but he has to be somewhere . . . Anyway, I just checked with Marsha and she says she hasn't seen James since Houston and she's pissed at him. I don't know . . . maybe she's covering up something and . . . well, I'm afraid that Marsha did something to Jason, but I don't have any proof. If Jason was okay he'd at least call his mother."

Pulling Booth over to the side away from Peter, Joe whispered to the agent. "Marsha has hurt other people before. She broke Ricardo Perrault's left hand last year just before they broke up. She has an evil temper . . . she scares the hell out of Carla . . . and me if you want to know the truth."

Booth turned to face Marsha Spell's RV. "I think I better go talk to Marsha Spell."

Oooooooooooooooooo

I hope this is still interesting.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I definitely don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Marsha Spell was resting on a lawn chair near the door of her RV after a grueling afternoon. Her crew made up of two cousins and her sister were finished for the day and were contemplating going out to eat. Her gaze roaming the nearby tents and her competition inside, she spotted a handsome man making his way over towards her tent. Sipping her cold beer, she waited for him to come closer, it was just too warm to go to him and she was happy where she was.

As Booth stepped under the open sided tent, he smiled at Marsha while Brennan who was following closely behind him kept her face schooled, an unemotional mask.

His hands on his hips, Booth looked around and then returned his gaze back towards Marsha. "Hi, my name is Buck." Turning slightly, he smiled at Brennan then once more moved his gaze back towards Marsha. "This here is my wife, Wanda. We're helping Joe and Carla Richard and we thought we'd come by and say hello."

Her interest solely on Booth, Marsha stood up and as she moved closer offered her hand. "Well, nice to meet you Buck. It's always nice to see new faces especially faces like yours."

Booth shook her hand and then released it with a flirty squeeze. He was used to women hitting on him and he thought a little flirting back might get him the information he needed. "So you been doing the barbeque circuit long? This is our first time doing this, it seems fun so far."

Her gaze sweeping over his body, Marsha moved over to her team's beer cooler and opened it. "Would you like a beer? We have Coors and Corona."

Slowly shaking his head, Booth glanced at Brennan and then back at the beautiful woman who was shamelessly flirting with him. "No thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I'm not thirsty right now."

Chuckling, Marsha sat back down. "Well, if you change your mind . . . . Maybe you can join us for dinner. We were thinking of going over to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner." Her gaze flicking towards Brennan, Marsha shrugged her shoulders. "You can bring Wanda as a chaperone."

Again Booth shook his head. "Thanks but me and Wanda are going to eat at our hotel tonight . . . say I'm looking for Jason Wu. My brother-in-law met him at the Houston cook-off last year and . . . " Turning, he looked past Brennan and saw Aubrey standing outside the tent playing his part as the bashful relative. "We wanted to say hey to him. Joe thought you might know where he is."

Her face falling, Marsha scowled and folded her arms across her breasts. "I don't know where he is and I don't care. We were dating last year and then he just disappeared. No calls, he stopped updating his Facebook page and he stopped using Twitter. I don't know what his problem is, but we're through. I don't appreciate someone treating me like that and to get all shitty and stop using Facebook and Twitter just to avoid me is just uncalled for. Jason is a poor excuse for a man as far as I'm concerned and if he was here I'd tell him off to his face."

Her venom making her face red, Booth knew she was a woman scorned and pissed because of it. "So you haven't heard from him since Houston?"

Shaking her head, Marsha stood up, opened the cooler and retrieved another beer. Cracking the top, she turned to face Booth. "No I haven't. If you see him, you tell him that he'd better stay away from me if he knows what's good for him."

Brennan thought that was good time to add to the conversation. "No one has seen him since Houston . . . including his mother."

Surprised, Booth turned to look at Brennan and then back Marsha. "Yeah, Pete Anderson told us it looks like Jason just didn't come back home from the cook-off and his mother is worried."

As she was done with Jason Wu, Marsha didn't think she cared. "Well maybe you should talk to Jim Riley. Jason was flirting shamelessly with his wife and it didn't just make me angry. Jim was pretty angry too. Maybe he put the fear of God in Jason and Jason moved to the other side of the country. Jim is from Monroe which isn't that far from Shreveport. Jim's a nice guy, but no one with sense tries to fool around with another man's wife."

Done with his interview for now, Booth touched the brim of his hat and assured her. "I will, thanks." Turning he placed his arm around Brennan's shoulders. "Well Wanda . . . James . . . It looks like Jason Wu isn't here. Maybe he's going to skip this competition after all."

Aubrey kept his eyes on Marsha and gave her a once over which she returned in kind. "Well, that's okay." Stepping under the tent, the younger agent smiled at Marsha. "So . . . you have room for me in your dinner party? I'm new in town and this Texas Roadhouse you're talking about sounds interesting."

Her interest now on Aubrey, Marsha stood up and glanced at her sister with a sly smile before turning back to face the handsome man. "Of course, James. The more the merrier."

As he walked away, Booth punched Aubrey lightly in the shoulder. "See you later man."

Oooooooooooooooo

As they walked back to Joe's tent, Brennan placed her arm around Booth's waist. "The social dynamics involved in this case are quite fascinating, Booth. Marsha is clearly an alpha-female and is not used to being rejected. Because Jason Wu hasn't contacted her, she has assumed she had been dumped and she is quite angry about it. I'm sure she isn't used to rejection and her emotions seem authentic to me. She does seem a little conceited though. She actually thinks Jason stopped using social media to avoid her. That's fascinating."

"I'll bet." As they slowly moved down the open aisle between the cook-off teams, Booth glanced at each one of the groups of people under their canopy tents and gave a friendly smile whenever anyone looked at him. "She has a violent temper and she doesn't like rejection. She says she hasn't heard from Jason, but we just have her word for it so far. Hopefully Aubrey will find out more while he's at dinner with her tonight. I think I'll have Angela check on her whereabouts when Gary Morgan and Price Thompson went missing. She interests me and right now, I consider her our primary suspect . . . we need to talk to Jim Riley as soon as we can . . . damn too many James to suit me . . . Jim Riley, James Aubrey . . . must have been a popular name once upon a time."

Her thoughts on evidence, Brennan finally spoke. "I hope Hodgins is successful and finds something we can use to pinpoint who the murderer is. We need evidence and so far we are failing in that department."

Before they reached Joe's tent. Booth stopped and faced Brennan. "Hey, this is early days yet. If we don't get anything here, we'll try something else. I want to stop whatever is going on and we aren't going to give up." Lowering his voice, Booth pulled her closer towards him. "Someone thinks no one is looking for them, but we are. You and me are going to catch this son-of-a-bitch whoever he or she is."

Proud of Booth and his skills as an investigator, Brennan kissed him. "Yes, it is early days and we have many avenues we can explore."

Pulling her against him, Booth stared into her crisp blue eyes. "You know, I think I have an avenue of exploration I'd like to try with you tonight . . . if you get my drift."

Amused, Brennan patted his behind. "I've been with you long enough to know exactly what you wish to explore, Booth."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Booth appreciated the coolness of their air-conditioned hotel room. Sitting on the bed watching a game he'd found on TV, he sipped from a bottle of water and tried to relax.

Fresh from her shower, Brennan entered the room in a pair of knit shorts and a t-shirt. "I wonder how long Aubrey will be. We're supposed to be at Joe's tent tomorrow morning at seven and we should go to bed soon."

Distracted from his game, Booth beckoned for her to come sit beside him. "He'll get here when he gets here. He's probably still eating. God knows why that guy is still skinny. It's weird . . ." Interrupted by the sound of a knock on the hotel room door, Booth slid off the bed and held up his hand. "I'll get it."

Used to Booth's tendency to protect her even from the mundane like a knock on the door, Brennan moved over to the table in the corner of the room and sat down. Removing her phone from its charger, she checked to see if there were any emails from Angela or Hodgins.

Opening the door, Booth found Aubrey in the hallway. "I figured you were still eating considering how starved you looked this afternoon."

"Ha Ha," Entering the room, Aubrey noticed Brennan. "Hey Dr. B." Turning to face Booth, Aubrey smirked. "Want me to give you a rundown of my evening or do you want to give me a few more shots."

Barely able to keep from laughing, Booth pointed towards the table and the remaining chair. "Have a seat." Sitting on the bed, Booth turned the television off and faced Aubrey. "So did you enjoy your dinner?"

Patting his stomach, the younger agent grinned. "I sure did. I've never eaten at one of those restaurants, so I googled and found out there are three not far from my house, so I have found my new favorite restaurant. They're all within 28 miles from where I live."

"I'm happy for you." A little impatient, Booth glanced at the clock on the night stand. "Tick tock . . . what did you find out?"

Before he could answer, Brennan placed her phone down. "Hodgins found a palm print in the truck that didn't belong to the police or Jason Wu's mother. It was on the edge of the front passenger seat and he found a finger print on the control for the seat adjustment for the passenger seat. He sent them to Angela and she's running them through as many databases as she can. It might be tomorrow morning before she has anything for us. It will depend upon whether the finger print or the palm print are in any of the databases she has access to."

Pleased to hear it, Booth clapped his hands together. "Alright . . . let's just hope they don't belong to a mechanic that worked on the car in the past."

After hearing the news, Aubrey checked his phone for emails and not seeing anything urgent, placed his phone in his shirt pocket. "I don't think Marsha Spell killed Jason Wu or anyone else. She's a very self-centered lady and when someone does her wrong, she cuts them out of her life completely. As far as she's concerned, they don't exist . . . she said she learned that lesson the hard way when she broke up with her high school boyfriend and broke his arm when he demanded he take her back. She said her mistake was listening to him. Now when she breaks up with her boyfriends, she severs all ties . . . I learned that tidbit when I asked her what she would do if Jason Wu showed up and asked for her take her back. She has a bad temper, but her cousins and her sister say that she's learned to control it. Her sister says she hardly hits anyone any more . . . she was serious when she said it too."

"Well, until I find someone better she's still my number one suspect." His phone ringing, Booth reached for it on the end table. "She was at the same competitions as the other missing . . . Booth . . . oh hey Christine, how's my pumpkin . . . oh no really . . . well you tell Hank that painting your dolls orange is not acceptable . . . hold on and let me talk to him . . . tell him Christine, don't shout in the phone, you're going to make me deaf doing that someday . . . yeah, I love you too . . . Hank what did I tell you about messing around with your sister's dolls . . . I don't care if they are a fan of the Flyers, you can't paint their faces orange . . . I mean it Hank . . . Yeah, you can talk to your Mom." Handing the phone to Brennan, Booth laughed. "Your son wants a lawyer."

Amused, Brennan laughed and took the phone from her husband. "Yes Hank . . . no that is indefensible, how would you like it if I painted your stuffed tiger bright purple or yellow? . . . I didn't think so . . . yes, you must apologize to your sister and . . . yes Hank I love you . . . there is no need to cry . . . yes your Daddy loves you too. Yes, good night, Hank. I love you."

After the call ended, Brennan shook her head, "This is your fault Booth."

Shocked, Booth held his hand against his chest. "Me? How is this my fault?"

"You love sports and so does he." Handing his phone back to him, Brennan continued. "He wanted Christine's dolls to show Whoseits pride."

Not falling for that one, Booth shook his head. "I didn't teach him to vandalize dolls . . . that's all on him."

Whistling, Aubrey shook his head. "I'm glad I was an only child."

Oooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you for reviewing my story. I really appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

The next morning, Booth, Brennan and Aubrey hadn't heard anything from Angela, so after a leasurely breakfast at the hotel they walked across the street to the Cajun Dome parking lot. The sun was up and it promised to be another scorching hot day. After Joe and Carla's equipment had been inspected and passed approval, Joe explained what was going to happen next. "Okay we're set up and we passed inspection. There's going to be a cook's meeting late this afternoon. After lunch we're going to prepare our meat and light our grills and slow cookers and put the brisket and pork butt on. It takes a long time to properly cook them. Now, we're going to have to sleep in shifts because early in the morning we'll have to put our chicken and ribs on. Carla will stay up until two tomorrow morning and then I'll take over. Now one of you should stay with Carla and one with me, but I can stay by myself if you have things you need to do. It's alright because I know you've got your hands full trying to do your job."

Booth and Brennan knew that they were lucky that Joe had kept the rest of his crew home to give them a spot on his team and they didn't want to abuse Joe and Carla's willingness to help. Brennan assured the Richards, "Booth and I will help. We can interview competitors during the night when we aren't needed."

Relieved, Joe smiled. He didn't really know how much help they were going to be since they were investigating a possible murder or murders, but he and Carla could use the help. "Okay then, we'll set up our entry boxes with parsley later this evening before I turn in. We'll show you how much of an art that is . . . Saturday is going to be very busy for us, so if you plan to talk to people do it today. Tonight we'll all do a lot of socializing, so it should be perfect for you."

Listening to all of this, Aubrey finally asked his burning question. "When do we get to eat barbeque?"

Amused, Joe chuckled. "Sorry James . . . tomorrow afternoon."

Crestfallen, James sighed. "Damn it."

Trying to be helpful, Carl patted Aubrey's arm. "If you'll go across the street and buy some ribs, I'll cook them for you on my little grill. My sauce is a real winner."

Eager to try it, Aubrey grinned. "Ill be right back."

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

After lunch, Booth, Brennan and Aubrey spread out and visited the tents of the competitors. The first one on Booth's list was Jim Riley and his crew. He had meant to talk to them the previous evening, but they had disappeared and Booth hadn't found them before he and Brennan had returned to their hotel. Now that the Rileys were in their tent preparing for the cook-off, he meant to talk to Jim.

The sun broiling anyone who dared to stand in it's full light too long, Booth adjusted his hat, left the tent and walked next door, ducking into the needed shade. "So how are you folks doing this afternoon?"

Charles Baker turned when he heard Booth's voice and moved closer to him. "We're doing fine. Why don't you just move along now?"

Not sure why Charles was upset with him, Booth spread his hands wide. "What did I do?"

Before Charles could answer him, Jim stepped out of his RV and over to where the two men were standing. "Come on Charles . . . you didn't do anything uh . . . Buck. My wife likes to flirt and it's harmless fun, but Charles thinks guys think she's serious and . . ."

Shaking his head, Booth glanced at Brennan as she walked by the trio. "Oh hell no. I know she isn't serious and I'm not interested anyway." Pointing at Brennan as she stopped at the Christopher's tent, Booth laughed. "You've seen my beautiful Wanda. She's all the woman I need or want thank you very much."

The tension melting from Charles, the man offered a smile. "You can never be too careful especially now a days."

Patting Charles' shoulder, Booth nodded his head. "Yeah, I have to chase horn dogs away from my wife all the time. The bastards come on to her even when I'm standing right next to her . . . it's enough to make a man want to kill someone."

Chuckling, Jim shook his head. "Well not kill someone, but beat the shit out of them yeah . . . That Jason Wu your brother-in-law was looking for yesterday is the worse. He's a handsome guy and he knows it . . . what's bad was he was dating Marsha Spell last year and flirting with as many women as he could. Married . . . single, he didn't care. Marsha got pissed about it and they had a fight in Houston and . . . I'm not sure, but I didn't see him after the sponsor disqualified him for being an asshole. . . well, for making threats towards Marsha. It was dumb because it was just before the awards were given out. Apparently he'd won for brisket, but since he was asked to leave they gave the prize to Brad Menard's crew instead . . . so the whole thing was just stupid."

Slowly nodding his head, Charles agreed with his brother-in-law. "Yeah, he doesn't own a RV, but he does have a large truck and a trailer to haul his stuff around with. I know he cleaned up his equipment with the rest of his crew. One of his crew was thrown out of the competition earlier for threatening Jason and the guy went home before the cook-off even really started. That whole competition was just a mess. We don't normally have problems like that. These cook-offs are usually a lot of fun and we have a great time, but not at that one." Shaking his head, Charles leaned against one of the grills. "Anyway, Jason left for his hotel around three thirty after getting into an argument with the rest of his crew. I really don't know what it was about, but I assumed they wanted to quit. I think that was what they were shouting about . . . just a real mess. Jason had been asked to leave and I guess he was ordering his crew around and it just got ugly fast."

"That does sound like a mess." Booth noticed Tiffany approaching with a grocery bag in her hand. "Well I think I'll go talk to the Menards. Good luck in the competition."

Passing Tiffany as he left, Booth smiled at her. "Good luck Tiffany."

Her eyes raking over Booth's body, Tiffany gave him a sexy smile. "You too, Buck."

Oooooooooooooooooo

The afternoon was spent interviewing as many of the crews as possible without actually letting them appear to be interviews. It was a frustrating day for all three of them until Angela called Booth. When his phone rang, he stepped away from Dwayne Fisher to have a private conversation. "Whatcha got Angela?"

 _I've identified the owner of the finger print on Jason Wu's truck . . . they belonged to Charles Baker._

His eyes darting towards Jim Riley's spot on the parking lot, Booth felt some hope after all. "That's great Angela. Did Hodgins find anything else?"

" _Yes, he found some blood. It's not much since someone went through a lot of trouble to clean it up. Jack says whoever cleaned up used something that cleans up blood. He told me what it was, but I don't remember what it was so you'll have to ask him. He found the blood between the seat and the gear selector. It was Jason Wu's blood. Jack thinks it's possible Jason was shot in the truck by whoever was in the passenger seat. Seems likely anyway. Someone detailed that truck and tried to make sure no one would suspect that it was a crime scene . . . Charles Baker owns some property in Carlton, Louisiana not too far from Monroe where his sister and brother-in-law live. He's never been convicted of a crime, but he was arrested for attempted murder a few years ago. It was a 'he said he said' situation and the case was dropped when the witness left town and didn't leave a forwarding address."_

Alarm bells ringing for Booth, he thanked her. "Thanks Angela and tell Jack thanks too." After he ended his call, he called the FBI field office in Baton Rouge and let them know that they had a viable suspect. He arranged for warrants for Charles Baker's property and for a team of agents to search the man's property as quickly as possible. Those five missing men had to be somewhere.

After searching for Brennan and Aubrey, Booth had an impromptu meeting and let them know what was going on. Once he was done, he pointed at the Riley's tent. "We need to give our guys the time to search Baker's property, so we aren't going to do anything right now. We'll just keep an eye on Baker for the night or until we're told what they found on the Baker property if anything."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

That evening, Booth and Brennan tried to stay in sight of Charles at all time, never letting him out of their sight except when he was in his brother-in-law's RV. Aubrey returned to the hotel to get some sleep so that he could spell Booth and Brennan later. It was decided that Aubrey would watch Charles by himself after two until six when Booth would come back and help keep track of Charles. More than likely Charles would be asleep, but they didn't want him taking off while no one was watching him.

There was a lot of socializing that evening, but Brennan noticed that Charles stayed under the tent most of the time near the grills. Joe didn't think it was unusual. "That's Charles. He's all business when it comes to the cook-offs. He's real anal about the grills and smoker and he worries that someone will open the grills when they shouldn't."

At eleven that night, Booth got a call from FBI Special Agent Black. _We brought ground penetrating radar equipment with us and we found something. We dug up a body a few minutes ago and we know of at least three more on the property. We're still looking._

His eyes now bored into Charles who was reading a novel with the aide of a lamp set up on a small table next to his chair. "Thanks. I'm going to make my arrest. We have enough to bring him in. Keep me informed about what you find and if you can, send me emails with pictures of what you find. I can use them when I interrogate our suspect."

 _Will do, Agent Booth. I'll send them as we uncover the bodies._

Oooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for reviewing my story. I really appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Before they confronted Charles Baker, Booth let Carla Richard know what was going on. She assured Booth and Brennan that she was able to tend to the meat by herself and that what they were doing was much more important in the grand scheme of things.

After confronting their suspect, Booth cuffed the man and read him his rights. While he was doing that Brennan knocked on Jim Riley's RV door and let him and his wife Tiffany know that Charles was under arrest for murder.

Horrified, Tiffany squeezed by her husband and stepped out of the RV. "No, this is a mistake. Charlie wouldn't hurt a fly. I don't know what's going on, but you have the wrong guy."

Not indifferent to Tiffany's heart break, Brennan shook her head. "It appears that he can hurt a fly. We're going to take your brother to Baton Rouge shortly."

Appalled, Tiffany turned and grabbed her husband burying her face in his shirt as she cried. Stunned, Jim silently watched his brother-in-law led away across the parking lot towards the West Congress Street exit. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that Charles was an odd duck and he hated to think that he'd done something as terrible as murder.

After they arrived at Booth's truck in the hotel parking lot, Charles was placed in the back seat and secured with a seatbelt. Because his hands were cuffed behind him, the suspect wouldn't be a lot of trouble for them. Brennan entered the hotel, went upstairs and packed their clothes. After that was accomplished, she knocked on the connecting door between her room and Aubrey's room.

The startled agent now awake from a sound sleep, staggered over to the door and opened it. "What's up?"

Taking in Aubrey's dazed look and wild hair, Brennan turned and walked over to where the luggage was. "We've arrested Charles Baker for murder. There were several sets of human remains found on his property this evening. Booth has placed him in our truck and he's waiting for me to pack so we can leave. I'm going to check us out of our room at the front desk and then we're going to drive to Baton Rouge. You may stay and help Joe and Carla if you wish and then return home tomorrow night. Booth says that it might be a good idea if you stayed with the Richards and while you are helping them you can keep an eye on Jim Riley. We still don't know if Charles worked alone or not."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Aubrey was torn between going to Baton Rouge and staying in Lafayette. "Okay, I'll stay with the Richards just in case it turns out to be more than it appears. I'll keep an eye on Jim Riley and his wife Tiffany if they stay. If they leave, I'll call Booth and let him know and he can decide if he wants me to follow them or not."

Once Brennan checked out, she carried their bags to the truck and loaded them in the back. Opening the front passenger door, Brennan slid into the truck and turned towards Booth. "Aubrey is going to stay to keep an eye on Jim Riley. He'll call you if they leave the competition."

After he started the truck, Booth turned to glare at Charles before they left the parking lot. "You give me any trouble, I'm going to stop on the basin bridge and I'm going to toss your ass in to the swamp. The gators might like a snack tonight."

Not sure if Booth was serious or not, Charles shrugged his shoulders. "I won't be a problem."

Ooooooooooooooooo

Sitting in an interrogation room in Baton Rouge, Booth leaned back against his chair and stared at his suspect. "This is what we know. Five men have been reported missing from the barbeque cook-offs that you've attended in the last two years."

Slowly shaking his head, Charles smiled. "I'm invoking my right to council and I will remain silent."

Placing several pictures on the table, Booth turned them so Charles could see them, but his suspect refused to look at them. "Great . . . that's your right. You sit there and listen and I'll talk . . . I don't know if you thought no one would ever put it together since it was done in different states and different cities, but someone did notice and they told the FBI. We got jurisdiction because you crossed state lines to do what you did . . . We had our experts go over Jason Wu's truck and they found blood and a finger print."

Certain he was being lied to, Charles sneered. "Bullshit."

"You've invoked your right to remain silent, so shut up." Booth moved the pictures closer to Charles. "We found out that the blood belonged to Jason Wu and that finger print was yours. That gave me probable cause and I got a warrant to search your property."

Unable to refrain from speaking, Brennan interjected. "You aren't as smart as you think you are."

Amused, Booth smiled at Brennan and then turn his attention back to Charles. "You're right Bones, he isn't very smart. The dumb ass buried the bodies on his property . . . we got you, you son-of-a-bitch."

Unable to prevent it, Charles finally looked the pictures of the bodies and he knew he'd been caught. "I had to protect my sister. Someone had to. Jim sure wasn't going to do it."

Holding up his hand, Booth stopped him. "You invoked council and the right to remain silent. We'll wait for your lawyer." Standing, Booth nudged Brennan on the shoulder and pointed at the door. Retrieving the pictures from the table, Booth smiled at Charles. "This is a death penalty state." After he left the room, an agent entered the room to baby sit Charles while Brennan and Booth got a cup of coffee from the break room.

Ooooooooooooooo

After Charles' lawyer arrived, Booth and Brennan joined her and Charles in the interrogation room. Settling on his chair, Booth placed the photos on the table before him again, but this time face down. "Your client has been read his rights three times Ms. Honore. He invoked his right to silence . . . He's been charged with the murder of nine people."

Shocked, Charles stared wide eyed at Booth, but remained silent.

Disgusted, Booth turned the pictures face up and spread them out on the table so that Charles and his lawyer could both see them. "I was able to get a warrant and the FBI has uncovered nine bodies on your property so far . . . we will eventually identify all nine, but I'm assuming five of them are from the cook-offs that you attended."

Unable to stop staring at the gruesome pictures, Charles finally spoke. "I did it to protect my sister. I told them to back off and . . ."

Furious, Ms. Honore placed her hand on her client's arm. "You are to remain quiet." Turning to face Booth, the lawyer demanded to know what led them to her client.

After explaining what was done and why, Booth glanced at Charles. "We've been very careful and chain of evidence has not been compromised. The bodies were found on your client's property."

Her throat dry, Lacy Honore looked at the photos and knew she had an uphill battle to fight for her client. "My client has nothing to say."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth stood up.

Annoyed that they weren't going to find out why Charles did what he did, Brennan stood up and glared at him. "You killed nine men and all you have to say is you did it to protect your sister?"

His gaze locked on the pictures, Charles nodded his head. "I couldn't risk it. They might have tried to take her from me like Nicole."

Lacy gripped her hand on Charles arm in anger. "Shut up! You invoked your right to silence, so do not say another word."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Still disappointed that they didn't know why Charles did what he did, Brennan sat in the coffee house, stirring her coffee.

"Look I know you're disappointed that we didn't find out his reason, but we will." Booth sipped some of his coffee and placed the cup back on the table. "Our people will keep looking and something will point to why he did it or it will come out in the trial. I had Charles and Tiffany's past checked into and I found out that they had a sister murdered when she was fourteen. Nicole was kidnapped, raped and murdered. From what he said, I think this might have something to do with that at least my gut says it does . . . Motive is important but in this case, we have a lot of evidence we can use to convict him and as long as he is convicted then that's all that matters. It will give the families of the victims closure and that's the important part."

Tired, Brennan nodded her head. "Yes, you're right. Usually I don't really care about why, but he killed nine people that we know about. His reasons though awful must be very strong."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you for reviewing my story. I really appreciate it.

I don't own Bones

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Back in D.C. Aubrey hurried from the parking garage to the fourth floor of the Hoover. With a quick side trip to the break room, he secured a cup of coffee and two candy bars from the vending machine. That first gulp of coffee gave him that caffeine jolt he needed. Making his way to Booth's office, he found the agent reading from a file. "I'm back." Settling on the chair in front of Booth's desk, he placed his mug on the desk and tore the wrapper off one of his candy bars. "You have time for me to go over what I found out or do want to wait for a report?"

Curious, Booth closed the folder and looked up. "Yeah go ahead and tell me."

After he swallowed his bite of candy, Aubrey leaned back against his chair. "Jim and Tiffany came over and talked to me when I showed up at the Richard's tent. They wanted to know what was going on, so I explained about the missing men and how Charles had become our prime suspect. Tiffany was in a state of shock about the whole thing, but her husband Jim seemed to accept what I was telling them like he knew what Charles had done."

"Did you talk to Jim about it?" Booth considered having Jim arrested, but he needed to know if that was necessary. "Did he really know what Charles was doing?"

Aubrey sipped some of his coffee and placed the mug back on the edge of the desk. "I don't think so. It's more like he knew there was something seriously wrong with his brother-in-law and he wasn't surprised that Charles could be capable of murder . . . kind of creepy if you ask me."

Slowly nodding his head, Booth leaned forward. "Did you find out anything that might be useful during the trial?"

The Agent pulled a small notebook from his jacket pocket and flipped it open. "Jim told me that Charles and Tiffany had an older sister. Nicole was 14 when she was kidnapped, raped and murdered. Jim said that Charles and Nicole were at the movies and during the movie she went to the restroom and didn't come back. He searched for her, but he couldn't find her and when he called his parents they came down to the theater and they called the police. The police found her body the next day. Jim told me that Charles' parents blamed him for her being kidnapped and killed and they never let him forget it . . . a pretty heavy burden for an eleven year old boy to live with."

"I guess he made himself Tiffany's guard dog to make sure that she was safe." Booth shook his head. "Maybe his lawyer can have him declared insane . . . Nine bodies that's a lot of crazy."

Disgusted with the whole thing, Aubrey grabbed his cup and stood up. "Too bad we can't put the parents on trial too. They created that monster."

His thoughts on his own childhood. Booth shook his head. "No Charles had a lot of choices and he made the wrong ones. His parents were horrible, but . . . well, anyway, we caught the guy so he can't hurt anyone else."

"Yeah, I guess." Aubrey moved over to the doorway. "You'll have my report by the end of the day . . . Oh Joe and Carla won for brisket. Damn that sauce and that meat . . . they should go into business I mean wow it was that damn good."

Amused, Booth smiled at the younger man. "So you got to eat barbeque after all?"

His eyes gleaming, Aubrey grinned. "Oh yeah. God those people know how to cook and I plan to go to some cook-offs in the future. Makes me hungry just thinking about it."

Snorting, Booth picked up the folder and flipped it open. "Shit, you're always hungry."

The taste of the barbeque still a fresh memory, Aubrey shrugged his shoulders and left the office. _I need to find a barbeque shack around here. Maybe I can call Carla and she can recommend one._

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Relaxed on the couch, Booth flipped through the channels on the TV trying to find a decent movie to watch when his children came charging through the front doorway and down the hallway towards him. "Daddy! . . . Dad!"

He just had time enough to brace himself before they threw themselves at him on the couch. "Holy smokes kids. You'd think you didn't see me this morning."

In a great mood, Christine laughed and plopped down on the couch next to her father while Hank moved so that he was between his father's legs and he was leaning against Booth's chest. "Mom told Hank and I that we're going to Virginia Beach this weekend. She said it was your idea. Thanks Dad."

Gripping his father's shirt in his fist, Hank grinned at his father. "I want to collect sea shells like Lisa Barnes does. She's got a bunch of cool ones, Daddy. She brought them to school last year for 'show and tell' and she got extra credit.

His arms around Hank, Booth hugged him and then released him. "You got it Sport. We'll all look for sea shells while we're at the beach."

Brennan entered the house, closed the door behind her and placed her messenger bag on the island as she passed it. "Someone forgot to close the door . . . again."

With fingers pointing at each other, both children claimed the other was the last through the door. Indignantly, Hank grabbed Christine's finger. "Nah uh, you were last you big Dummy."

"Hank!" Brennan wasn't pleased with the insult. "I'm pretty sure you are not allowed to call your sister a dummy."

His cheeks rosy red, Hank released Christine's finger. "She started it . . . " The look on his mother's and father's face made him stop and move away from his father. "I got to go to the bathroom." Racing down the hallway, Hank escaped his mother's glare.

Christine shook her head. "If he'd go before we left Aunt Angela's house he wouldn't have to worry about it when he got home . . . children."

Amused, Booth watched her stand up and walk down the hallway towards her bedroom. "She's growing up too fast, Bones."

Sitting down beside him, Brennan placed her arm around his arm. "Not really, she's maturing at the pace she should be . . . Booth, you've been distant for the last three days, ever since we came back from Louisiana. Is something wrong?"

"I guess I'm not good at hiding things from you." Booth kissed her and braced himself for the conversation he had been putting off for a few days. "We need to talk, but I'd like to do it when the kids are in bed and I know we won't be interrupted."

Worried, Brennan stared at Booth for a few moments. "Alright . . . if that's what you wish to do."

He knew he was worrying her, but the conversation was very important and he needed her full attention not to mention he wanted to put it off for just a little bit longer. "Thanks Bones. Don't worry it isn't that serious, it's just . . . um . . . okay it's serious, but it doesn't have anything to do with us us."

"Us us?" Brennan hated it when Booth delayed important conversations to try protect her and she knew that was what was going on now. "Booth just tell me."

Feeling trapped, Booth stood up and faced Brennan. "Let's go into the bedroom at least. I really need to talk to you without the kids around . . . okay?"

Filled with dread, Brennan nodded her head. "Yes of course."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Okay probably not fair, but you will find out what is going on in the next chapter. Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

After the bedroom door was closed, Booth moved over to the bed and sat down. Anxious about Booth's behavior Brennan sat down beside him. "Tell me what's going on, Booth."

Unable to put off the conversation any longer, Booth firmly clasped her hand in his hand. "Well, remember I told you that the Director wants to promote me to Executive Assistant Director for Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch?"

His hand gripping her hand rather tightly, Brennan knew that her husband was very nervous and that increased her anxiety. "Yes. It would mean that you'd be in charge of four divisions, Criminal, Cyber, Critical Incident Response and International."

This was a huge step for them and Booth knew it. "The Director called me into his office two days ago . . . he told me he was promoting me and to prepare for a Congressional hearing." The thought of going through that made him sick and he knew he couldn't do it again. "I told him that I didn't want the promotion, but he insisted I had to take it . . . . I guess he believes in up or out . . . anyway, I turned it down and now I'm out. He's asked me to retire. I was just waiting for the right time to tell you."

The fingers in her hand starting to feel numb, Brennan wriggled her hand free from his tight grip. "I see."

Misunderstanding her words and the withdrawal of her hand from his grip, Booth slumped his shoulders and stared at his empty hand. "I'm sorry, but I can't go through that again . . . I don't trust those guys . . . when I brought Congressman Hadley down I made some enemies and they're still in power . . . I won't risk my family like that again . . . I can't."

Brennan realized that Booth thought she was disappointed in him and that was far from the truth. She looped her arm around his arm and she tried to catch his eyes. "Booth . . . Booth, I'm on your side. I told you that I will support whatever choice you make and I meant it . . . when do you have to leave the FBI?"

"Next week." Booth rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "I have to leave next week. I'm taking a medical retirement. I'm not old enough to just retire, so I had to go out that way. It was that or be fired and I can't afford that."

Her mind racing with what needed to be done, Brennan finally nodded her head. "Alright. I'll be severing my contract with the FBI as of next week. Your last day will be my last day with the FBI."

"Bones . . ." Booth knew that Brennan loved her work and he didn't want her to quit a job she loved. "You can still do your job. Don't quit because you think that you have to to be loyal to me."

Grimly, Brennan shook her head. "I have told you and the FBI many times that I will only work with the best. You are the best and I am not willing to work with anyone else. I still have contracts with the State Department, the Pentagon and the CIA. With those contracts plus my work at the Jeffersonian working to identify bones in Bones storage I have more than enough work to do. Our leaving the FBI will be the FBI's loss Booth. They may not see that right now, but they will eventually and when they do it will be too late . . . What do you wish to do? You . . . you won't go back in the Army will you?"

A sad chuckle his immediate answer, Booth shook his head. "I wasn't really physically fit to go back the last time and now . . . no, that's done . . . I don't know yet."

Hesitantly, Brennan brought up an idea she had been thinking about since their talk in Louisiana. "Why not just retire? We have plenty of money, certainly more than we'll ever use. You'll have your retirement pay, if you wish to stay home then I don't see why you couldn't. It would certainly make child care easier for both of us and the children would love to see you more often."

"I'm only 52 years old." Booth didn't think he liked that idea at all. "I'm too young to not do anything."

She had been certain he would turn down that suggestion, but she had felt compelled to make it just in case. "Alright . . . I do know that inactivity bothers you . . . Will you check with the CIA and see if their offer is still good?"

Not really sure what he wanted to do with himself, Booth sighed. "Maybe . . . Let's get through this week and once I'm out of the Hoover I'll think about my options."

"It's sad that the FBI is forcing you out, but that is their mistake to make." Brennan was furious that Booth was being mistreated and she knew they were helpless to prevent it. "Whatever you choose to do I will support you one hundred percent."

"Thanks Bones."

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Booth's retirement shocked quite a few people and more than one person questioned the sanity of the Director of the FBI. In a way it was gratifying for Booth to be told he was so valuable, but it didn't change the fact that he was out of a job.

As soon as Danny heard about Booth's retirement, he contacted his friend and made an offer for the CIA. Booth had been interested until he found out it would require a lot of travel and there was no way he was going to do that to his family. His two youngest kids were still very young and they were getting to be a handful. He knew that Brennan could handle it, but why should she? No, he had the family he'd always dreamed of and he wasn't about to neglect them in any way.

The days moved from one to the next and Booth got into a new rhythm. He woke every morning, made a hot breakfast for his family and after Brennan left for work, Booth drove the kids to school. During the day he'd do some housework and do whatever shopping that needed to be done. Now that he had time, he started working on some projects he'd been delaying because of lack of time.

The first project took him a few weeks as he worked on it by himself. When it was done, his children had a treehouse in the middle of the back yard. Next he built a new barbeque pit and covered the area surrounding the pit with flagstone. Once that was finished, he built a picnic table and installed a small kitchen next to the pit. Brennan had been so excited with the results of his hard work that she planned a party for all of their friends.

"Booth you're so good at this." Admiring the small outdoor kitchen, Brennan smiled at the neat way it had been built. "Have you ever considered just doing this for a living? You did rebuild our Mighty Hut with Wendell's help and you did such a beautiful job."

Surprised, Booth sat down on the picnic table and looked around at his handy work. "I never really thought about it . . . It might be fun."

"Do you miss working for the FBI?" Brennan leaned against the sink and stared at Booth. "Are you happy?"

He knew she was worried about him and he loved her for it. Booth held out his hand and waited for her to come to him. Her hand in his grasp, Booth looked up at her. "I am happy, Bones. I didn't think I would be, but I am. I get to see the kids more now. We don't have to worry about Day Care or after school activities and I don't have to look at very gross bodies anymore . . . Yeah, I'm happy . . . are you?"

"I am too." Brennan moved to sit beside him on the bench. "I thought I would miss working for the FBI, but I find I have plenty to do at the Jeffersonian and I have made great strides in identifying the bodies in Bones Storage . . . and to tell you the truth, I don't miss seeing the liquid bodies. I much prefer to work with bones. That is my specialty."

Booth rubbed his thumb on her hand. "We have a good life, Bones. You and me . . . we had a rocky start in life, but look at us now . . . we made it." Leaning over he kissed her. "I love you Bones. I love you and our family and our life."

A scream coming from the house, the back door slammed open and Hank ran out of the house with Christine following on his heels. "You come back here you little weasel."

Another scream from Hank and he made his way over to where his parents were sitting. "Save me Daddy . . . Mommy save me." As fast as he could, Hank crashed into Booth and forced his father to move his knees apart so he could stand between them. "Christine says she'd going to kill me and bury me next to the treehouse."

Huffing, Christine stopped in front of her parents and glowered at her younger brother. "Tell them why!"

His ears ringing from the screams, Booth shouted. "Enough!" Glaring at the boy who was now clutching his shirt, Booth sighed. "Hank what did you do?"

With almost a whisper, Hank glanced at his mother and saw that she was giving him her teacher look. "Well . . . um, I kinda lost my snake in Christine's bedroom."

Appalled, Brennan stood up and stared in horror at the back door. "Booth, I warned you this would happen. You have to find it if you expect me to reenter the house."

Barely able to keep from laughing, Booth stood up, pulled Hank into his arms and rested him on his left hip. As he walked past his livid daughter, Booth patted her shoulder. "Come on Hank. Let's go find Bobby." As he moved towards the house, he started to laugh. Pausing, he turned to look back at his wife. "I love our life Bones, all of it."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

So this is then end of this story. Let me know what you thought of it. Thank you.


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